Watching Darkness
by JaffaArchfiend
Summary: A psuedo-companion piece to Dandelion's Glory by WingBladeWeaver1357. In a world full of Heroes, there will always be Villains. And sometimes in order to do good and protect others, one has to walk down the road to darkness.
1. Chapter 1: It Begins

Author's Note: You can blame WingBladeWeaver1357 for this, and their fic Dandelion's Glory for this little bout of madness :P Hope you all enjoy, and I would advise giving theirs a read through first before coming to this one.

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 **CHAPTER ONE**

 **IT BEGINS**

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"I'm sorry, you want me to do what?" a black trench-coat wearing brown and silver haired teen asked of a silver haired teenager. "Ienzo called and asked if I could send someone to keep an eye on Hikari whilst she's in this City of Heroes world… whilst working from the shadows." Riku explained with a sigh and a shrug. Scath rubbed the back of his head, muttering under his breath. "I get that she's Sora's sister and all that, but this City Of Heroes world sounds like it's an easy place to stay out of trouble." he replied. "Hell, they don't even have Heartless or Nobodies running around causing havoc if I've read the initial report right."

Riku shrugged. "Xehanort had some kind of interest in that world, and with her doing hero work there as part of her cover whilst she looks for any more reports he wrote…" the Twilight Master trailed off, leaving it hanging for Scath to pick up and follow through. Scath sighed before slowly nodding. "Fine. I'll be the "villain" to her hero. If I'd known that part of the deal of helping me escape the Realm Of Darkness was baby-sitting a kid I don't know, I might have rethought the whole arrangement." smirked the brown haired youth to show there was no real bite to his words.

"Just try to keep Keyblade summoning to a minimum. Apparently there are some in that world who know about it, and Xehanort's the one who introduced them to the concept." The silver-haired Keyblade master explained, Scath nodding slowly. "Yeah… Don't worry. I know full well the terrible power someone can do with a Keyblade." He said as he rubbed his left arm where the faded gold coloured armour rested.

Riku placed a hand on his "apprentices" shoulder in a comforting manner. "That's why I figured you'd be best for this. The Realm of Darkness may have taken your memories, but the feelings are still there. Use them and keep an eye out for her whilst you look for those reports of his."

Scath sighed and nodded. "…Are you sure we can't just send Lea? I mean, icky jobs are his speciality after all." he quipped, chuckling even as Riku smacked him across the back of his head, chuckling along with him. "I'm sure. Now get going. And remember-" he said even as Scath called out his Keyblade, a deep purple weapon that looked like it had jaws at one end, and opened a portal to this new world.

"Keep the Keyblade to a minimum. Don't worry about it. You and Terra helped re-train me remember?" he said before he gave a two fingered salute and stepped through into the City Of Heroes, and Villains. With Hikari in the Light, and himself in the Darkness.

What could possibly go wrong?


	2. Chapter 2: Contact

**CHAPTER TWO**

 **CONTACT**

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Upon arriving in this world Scath decided to do some digging through the local libraries history section in the city of Yokohama, claiming it was for a school project, which wasn't a complete lie. Hikari and Ienzo's recon intelligence aside, he just preferred to get his own data himself. Sometimes people missed things when they were focused on a single goal, and in this case the report had been spotty in one very important regard. The other nations of this world. If he was going to ingratiate himself into the villain underworld, Scath had to come up with an origin story and reason why they hadn't heard about him before, as well as why he'd decided to come to Japan.

It took the better part of a day, as well as some bribes in the form of "exotic" confectionary to the local librarian to let him stay overnight for his research. Sea-Salt Ice Cream Snacks were definitely something this world didn't have, and something he'd have to thank Mr McDuck for later. But he managed to come up with a conclusive timeline of this world, a backstory that should put up well under scrutiny, as well as a convincing reasoning to make an appearance here in Japan. Now that the easy part was done, he had to go find this "League Of Villains" that seemed to be the up and coming force in the villain underworld. Without being captured or arrested beforehand. That would prove slightly trickier.

The only upside to having spent centuries, or was it decades, or just years… either way, spending a very long time in the Realm Of Darkness was one could pick up a sort of sixth sense for where darkness in any world was located. There was just one problem with that though… finding the right darkness. This was a city after all, and every city had its nightlife scene, and beneath that scene was the seedy underbelly of the criminal world. Of course factor in that there were a number of cities in this nation alone… Assuming that this League Of Villains was even based in this nation. The one in their numbers who could make portals concerned Scath. It meant that this League could be operating anywhere in the world, and since it wasn't magic or the power of darkness that created the portals, he had no way of tracking it.

"Just got to hedge my bets and hope I strike lucky then." He mused as he headed into (UA city)'s more questionable district. If there was to be any information about where to find the League, it'd be down in places like this. As he walked, he stopped as some sort of rotund bird person got thrown out of a bar via the window. The youth glanced towards the bar and its occupants through the shattered window and shrugged.

"This seems as good a place as any to start." Muttered the Keyblade wielder as he went on inside. He had to resist the urge to gag though upon entering. The place absolutely reeked of stale drink and smoke, along with questionable amounts of body odour from the bars patronage. A few eyes glanced in his direction as he entered, but they returned to their conversations as he made his way to the bar itself, taking a stool.

Before he could open his mouth to ask for a drink, he felt someone or something tapping him on his unarmoured right shoulder. He looked to his left, recalling someone pulling that sort of prank on him before. Or was it recollection? He shook his head and seeing nobody there he looked to his right where a large man with a rather impressive looking moustache was staring at him. "That's my seat." He growled, Scath looking down at the stool he was sitting in.

"Technically it belongs to the bar, and it's a stool. Not a seat." The brown haired youth explained before he returned to looking at the bartender. When he felt the man grab him by the shoulder he sighed. "You don't want to do this. Save yourself the hospital bill." Scath warned him, the big man chuckling. "It'll be you that'll be footing your own bill foreigner." He said as he started to try and throw Scath from the stool, only to find his hand catching on fire as a dark energy coruscated from the youths body. The man screamed and held his injured hand tightly as the dark fire died off. "Warned you." Scath pointed out, looking once more to the bartender. The bartender pointed behind Scath, causing him to sigh in frustration.

He swivelled on the stool, raising an eyebrow as a whole gang of people were now glaring at him. Now, he'd met King Mickey in the Realm Of Darkness, several different types of Heartless in that twisted hellscape and Mr McDuck in Radiant Garden, but the physical variety on display in front of him was amazing. Ten individuals, all as different from each other as Mr McDuck was from King Mickey. "So ye like to play with fire eh foreigner?" a bull-headed man croaked, as one of his companions snickered whilst making a fist formed of ice. The rest were armed with a variety of clubs or were showing off their own elemental powers. One was even covered in spikes.

"Fire?" the brown-haired youth inquired slowly getting off the stool and brushing his jacket down. Wrapped around his body was a corona of dark energy that seeped into the shadows of the bars wooden floor. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. I don't play with fire." Scath began to explain, the ice-fist thug throwing a punch that he caught in his armoured glove. "I wield the darkness in our hearts." He said, dark lightning screeching out from his hand and up the ice-fist thug's arm, electrocuting the man on the spot.

With a casual swing of his arm Scath threw the zapped fool into the crowd even as he tapped his boot against the floor. Black shards of ice speared up from the floor and impaled the legs of those who weren't quick enough to move, and for those that had caught on that they were out of their depth found themselves being battered by a howling vortex of dark wind that left them lacerated.

"Now, bugger off and annoy someone else before I decide to squash you like the insects you are." Scath ordered, the thugs who could move helping their fellows as they all scrambled to get out of the bar as quickly as possible. He snorted before returning to his stool and looking to the bartender. "I'll have a gin and fresh orange please. Ice, no fruit slices." Scath requested, the poor man nodding emphatically as he prepared the drink.

The brown-haired youth rubbed a hand through his hair, sighing and shaking his head. He did not feel right about using the darkness like that against low-level bastards like them, but he had to get an invitation or directions to the League Of Villains somehow. And the most efficient way that didn't involve getting on any heroes radar was to establish a reputation, and sadly for them they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Now if he'd managed to play that situation just right, one of these wannabe villains in this bar would be able to get him in touch with someone who could get him in touch with someone who could get him in touch with the League. Not ideal, but he sincerely doubted that he'd just stumble on someone who knew them directly. He glanced over as an older man in a purple suit and wearing a yellow scarf, probably in his fifties, sat down beside him and put some cash down on the counter.

"For his drink." The man said, the bartender nodding as he delivered Scath's drink. He raised an eyebrow before taking a sip of the orange and gin. "What's the catch? Someone doesn't pay for another mans drink unless he wants something." The old man chuckled and nodded. "Well, that was an impressive display of power you put on just there, and I figured you'd be the right fit for a little operation I'm helping recruit for."

Scath's eyebrow went higher as he took another sip of his drink. "What's the payoff? That little demo-reel there's just the tip of the iceberg. And I don't work for free. Got rent to pay and all that crap." he asked the squinting old man. The old man chuckled and nodded. "Well, no immediate pay yet, but the payoff'll be big kid." This could be the link I'm looking for to the League. Scath thought to himself as he took another drink, looking away from the man as if he were contemplating the job offer. "What's the op? I ain't agreeing to a blind deal that could turn sideways." The brown-haired youth asked.

"Ever hear of the League Of Villains?" the old man asked in reply, snickering as Scath snorted into his drink. "Those idiots who got their butts kicked by All Might and a class of hero wannabes? Not much of a League." The brown-haired youth retorted, keeping his cards close to the chest. "So even a foreigner like yourself heard about that eh?" the old man asked. Scath nodded. "Large scale attack against the best hero school in Japan, which gets stopped by the students and the Number One Hero? Yeah, heard about it."

"Well, maybe someone with your skills-" the old man started. "Could make it so they don't get their butts kicked again by a bunch of kids?" Scath finished the line for him. The old man snickered and nodded. "That's about right. So what'chu say kid?" The brown-haired youth gave a contemplate hum as he took a drink from his glass, putting the empty down. "Well, you did pay for the drink, so seems only fair I at least hear these idiots out. Name's Darkgnaw." He said, offering his hand to the old man. "Excellent," he said with a thin grin, "Giran's the name and I'm looking forward to doing business with you again later Mister Gnaw." The pair of them chuckled and started to make their way out of the bar.


	3. Chapter 3: Anacrusis Of Rising Darkness

**CHAPTER THREE**

 **ANACRUSIS OF RISING DARKNESS**

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It had been two days since that meeting. Scath had spent the time going over the reports that Hikari had made to Ienzo regarding this world, in particular the report regarding the Hero Killer. He focused on the connection he had to the school and specifically the class via the hero Ingenium who's younger brother was in the class that Hikari was attending in this world. He'd decided to make his way to Hosu, given that that was the Hero Killers last known location.

Ienzo assured him that the girl was nowhere near the danger zone, but all the same he couldn't help but worry. That and it would give him something to do besides hanging around with Giran waiting for him to sort out this damned meeting with whoever he was recruiting him for.

Scath could have made a portal to get there, either with his Keyblade or with the powers of Darkness but the former had to be kept hidden in case Giran was spying on him in the apartment, and the latter… The less contact he had with that realm the better. And he didn't want to risk leaking any Heartless into this world if the Corridor didn't seal properly. That and there was something relaxing about travelling by something elses power than his own, and when one puts them so close to the darkness, a moment to relax here and there are moments to be treasured.

"This train won't arrive until night, is that alright?" came a voice from a seat in front of him. Scath could just about make out a tuft of green hair over the top of the seat. Sounded like a school kid, or someone about that age.

"There'll be more skirmishes then, so it'll be more fun!" came a reply from the seat next to the green-hairs, a much older voice. Scath could just make out the end of a cane on the floor, so probably an old man, perhaps the kids grandfather? The kids voice when he responded made the brown-haired youth chuckle.

"Just keep your grandpa's training in mind kid, and I'm sure you'll be fine." Scath called over to the seats in front, the elder chuckling as the green tuft of hair pulled out of Scath's sight. The kid was probably embarrassed on someone calling him out about the whole thing, but stuff like that's good for keeping ego's in check. He leaned back in his chair and watched the scenery passing them by, letting the conversation in front of him sift into background noise.

This world was definitely worth seeing… It had been so long since he'd seen an intact world like this. The last time he'd seen trees and hills like this, was the fractured remnants of a consumed world in the Realm Of Darkness. It was heartening to see a non-corrupted version of that same kind of scenery. Especially without any monsters randomly striking from nowhere.

Almost right on cue the opposite wall of the train burst open, and some kind of four-eyed creature with an exposed brain revealed itself in the gap of shredded and broken metal, a hero of this world pinned down in its hand. The kid in front of him called out a name, Nomu, which brought Scath back to his reality of the situation and where he was. He glanced down at his right hand where his Keyblade had already been brought into being, a subconscious and instinctual response at this point, and he quickly dismissed it. A quick scan showed that all eyes were on the strange creature and not in his direction. Thankfully. But now there was the question of how to respond to this creatures attack… He had to maintain his cover as a villain recruit, but this beast needed to be dealt with here and now.

The dilemma was resolved for him though by the actions of another. "Not bad for an old man." He mused as the elder from before slammed into the beast after bouncing around the train like a jet-propelled ball knocking it out of the train, a green haired kid in a similar coloured suit looking at him and nodding nervously. "Grand Torino, my internship teacher." Green-hair quickly explained to Scath as they both looked out through the hole in the train.

The city of Hosu was on fire… The train conductor was calling for everyone to remain in their seats, to wait for the heroes to arrive on the scene and handle the situation. Under any normal circumstances Scath would be inclined to agree with the man, but the green-haired kid had the right idea and was already on the move off of the train.

Scath looked over at the conductor and gave an apologetic shrug before following suit. If these creatures, these Nomu as the kid had called them were causing all this ruckus and chaos, then it was logical to presume that there would be those who'd take advantage of the destruction. Namely those who specialised in killing Heroes and not being caught in the act. But all the same, best to check out the fires as well just in case the chaos there brought about opportunities for multiple hero killings. That and he had no clue where Hikari's internship was taking place and given that she was Sora's sister she'd no doubt be drawn to the most damaged areas if Riku's description of her brother was anything to go by.

As he ran he looked over at his armoured left arm and shoulder, sighing as he slammed his right hand into the pauldron. In a burst of light he was garbed in a set of faded gold armour, lined with violet, a foxes head stylised upon his face-plate helmet. The armour would give him the appearance of a hero, and the glass-pane that was the helmets front would hide his face from anyone looking his way. Scath snorted as he leaped from one roof to the next. The armour he'd fought in and died in in a senseless war, now being used to disguise himself as a hero... the irony did not escape him.

He soon found himself standing atop one of the cities high rises watching the creatures cause their wake of destruction, and the heroes battling desperately against them. One of them was ground based whilst the other was a flyer. He couldn't recognise any of the heroes but there was one down there that even he could guess the identity of. The Number Two Hero Endeavour… Now that was a sight he wasn't expecting to see this soon in this world. As much as he'd like to see what this fire-wielding powerhouse could accomplish, he had a different task to keep in mind. Making sure Hikari wasn't here in this hell hole of carnage.

He couldn't make out anyone that could match the description of "Sora's Sister" amidst the heroes fighting the other two brain-beasts, but then again a few of them were wearing helmets which made identification from a distance a bit of a trickier subject. When the flyer snatched up one of the heroes and took to the skies, it flew right by the brown-haired youth's spot on the rooftop affording him a closer look at the creature. Instead of a mouth it had a gasmask that looked like it was literally grown into the things face, and it definitely looked like something grown rather than born… Its proportions were all wrong for anything that was naturally born, even in a world full of oddities and shapes from Quirks.

His eyes caught those of the Number Two Hero as he pursued the creature, and Scath gave the illustrious hero a nod of respect as he took off after the beast. He observed the remaining heroes as they handled damage control for the creature that Endeavour had blasted the head off of, looking at their organisational skills, delegation of duties and their response times to any outcries from trapped civilians.

They were definitely efficient, and well-practiced. That part concerned him. If attacks like this were a natural occurrence in these heroes lives, then Xehanort would have reached this conclusion as well when he first came here. Which means trying to locate any report pages here would be trickier… an item like that would probably be stored in a high security site that would secure them from accidental damage or destruction. Most likely in the hands of the villains, since they were the best lead so far regarding any and all encounter information.

He looked over at the damage that just a couple of these brain-beasts had wrought, and what it had taken to bring them down… If he got discovered as not being an actual villain by the League, he could maybe handle one of these creatures without the Keyblade. But more than one, and he'd have to out himself as a wielder, and even then it might be pushing things.

And Hikari was in a school that was being targeted by these people.

Scath closed his eyes and took in a slow breath before releasing it. He could feel the darkness responding to his anger at the situation, and he could not allow himself to be consumed by the power. But given all that was going on here, how could Ienzo condone this operation? Why would someone dare to continue involving a child, no matter how accomplished, in a life or death situation on a constant basis?! Scath's breathing became laboured as his mind conjured the sounds of a war long ended, the thoughts of children risking their lives for the whims of another causing the darkness to rise up within and around his form.

The whirring sound of a helicopter's rotors broke the memories grip and drew his attention to a distant building, with two individuals standing atop it. No doubt watching the destruction unfold. From this distance he couldn't quite make them out besides the fact there were two of them, but for now that information would have to suffice. How they left though definitely gave him a cause for concern.

A dark portal.

Was it one of the pairs Quirks, or a Corridor of Darkness? But it was definitely time for him to take his leave, before the helicopter turned its focus on him instead. It would look strange for a golden armoured hero to not take part in the city's recovery operations, and the less that saw it the better. Just in case Xehanort had told anyone about more than just Keyblades. Once more he was tempted to call up a portal, but since records showed him taking the train to this city, he'd have to make sure that there were records of him leaving as well. Maybe by the time he got back, Giran would have sorted out that meeting with the League. "Time to find a hotel or something." Scath mused to himself as he left the rooftop, the armour receding back to its "stored" form in a twinkle of star shaped light motes.


	4. Chapter 4: Revelations

Authors Notes: Glad to see that there's people out there enjoying this :)

* * *

 **CHAPTER FOUR**

 **REVELATIONS**

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The next day the news covered the events of last night, focusing on the Hero Killer more than the Nomu monsters that had attacked. If the all out monster rampage was secondary news, Scath wondered how these people would react to Heartless and Nobodies? He sat in his hotel room watching the broadcasters connect the dots between the Hero Killer Stain and the League Of Villains because of the previous UA attack, due to the single premise of the Nomu having been at both. He paid close attention to the two figures in the report when the footage from the helicopter that he'd seen came around.

"So that's what they look like." mused Scath, rubbing his chin in thought. The glowing purple figure must have been the one who created the portal, which means it was Quirk based. His phone began to buzz beside him and the brown-haired youth sighing as the caller ID on the device recognised the number as Girans before answering it. "You finally got it sorted then? A guy can only stick around a hotel for so long." he asked of the old man on the other end of the call.

"It's all set up. Where are you?"

"Hosu. Wanted to check things out for myself. I'll catch the first train back… unless your client can make a portal." Scath tested Giran, hearing only chuckling coming from his end of the phone call. As soon as the phone call ended, a dark mist began to appear in front of the brown-haired youth. Well that confirms it. He's recruiting people for the League Of Villains… time to make my introduction. He thought to himself as a swirling vortex formed in front of him.

He stepped through it and found himself in what looked like a bar. As soon as he was completely through, the portal closed behind him and reformed as part of the man dressed as a bartenders body. Scath gave the man a respectful nod before turning his attention to the other two people in the room. One he recognised as Giran, who had a map app running on his phone. So the bastard was tracking me through the phone he gave me.

 _Figured as much, which explains how the other one was able to make a portal to my location so quickly._ The second person however drew a raised eyebrow from the brown-haired youth. Thin, almost emaciated by the looks of things, wearing a basic black shirt and trousers that were contrasted by bright red sneakers. The main feature though was the severed hand strapped to his face.

"So, you're the League Of Villains huh?" asked Scath, his eyes not once letting the Hand guy out of his sight. The portal maker didn't seem like the combat type, and from what he recalled of the report regarding the USJ attack all he did was create portals to redirect and block attacks. The Hand guy though, he had some sort of disintegration power and from Hikari's report combined with the news reports about the USJ attack was unstable. "So, where's the guy I'm going to be working for Giran?" he asked the squinting old man. The Hand guy stiffened up and pointed to the energy bartender.

"Kurogiri, get rid of this guy. He doesn't even know who's in charge. I can't stand that in my party." The hand wearing man ordered of the bartender who held up his hands, or what Scath guessed would pass for hands in an almost plaintive manner.

"Now now, he came all this way so at least hear him out Shigaraki Tomura." The one named Kurogiri requested of the Hand Guy. "Besides, that big shot broker vouches for his abilities so he should be useful to our cause."

Scath sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Party? You think this is an RPG or something kid? If that's the case then sorry to break it to you, but I didn't come for some jolly jaunt through the enchanted forest to claim the dragon's treasure." He said, the skinny pale man turning his attention back to him. "I came here because Giran there said there'd be a proper payoff. And kid, if this is how you behave, then its no wonder why I don't think you're the one in charge of all this." He pointed out to them, smirking as Tomura started to scratch at his neck probably in irritation. _This kid's got far too easy a tell when he's annoyed. Definitely wouldn't be Xehanorts first choice though to go about disclosing information to, so he must have learned about the Keyblade from someone else…_

"No good… this is no good." Tomura grumbled, getting up out of his stool and flexing his fingers. Scath narrowed his eyes, watching him whilst adjusting his feet slightly. Kurogiri for his part was waving his hands at the Hand wearing bastard trying to placate him, whilst Giran was just smirking. "You're no good at all!" cried out Tomura as he lunged towards Scath, his hands stretched out as he tried to grab him.

The brown-haired youth swung his right arm, calling up a blade of pure darkness as a two-fold attack. The first would be to see if Tomura's disintegration powers would work against an energy-based attack, and secondly to act as a retaliatory strike. However what he was not expecting was the bartender to take a pro-active role in their impromptu fight, portals appearing in front of both of them and stopping their attacks from reach the other.

"Please calm down, Shigaraki Tomura." The mist-like villain said, rather too calmly for Scath's tastes. "If you what you wish is to come to pass, we need to increase our numbers. This one knows how to fight, how to take on multiple enemies at once without breaking a sweat. You can use him." Tomura sighed and pulled his hands back out of the portals, scratching at his neck again. Scath likewise pulled his arm out of the portal, dispersing the darkness he'd gathered. The brown-haired youth shot Giran a look who simply chuckled and left, closing the door behind him.

"Since you've both told me who the other is," said Scath as he looked at the remaining two villains, "only fair I introduce myself as well. You can call me Darkgnaw." He said before looking at the television set behind him, which had the words Sound Only written across its screen. "Now it's your turn. I presume the real mastermind behind the League is behind that screen listening and watching to this whole thing." He said, gesturing to the television set with a wave of his hand.

The room was silent for a moment before a chuckling came over the televisions speakers. "So quick to judge and quick to act." A deep voice spoke out, one that sent a chill down the brown-haired Keyblade wielder's back. "I watched the tape that Giran brought us, your demo-reel as he called it. Impressive range of abilities your Darkness has, not to mention the ease with which you wielded them." Scath tried to keep his face from betraying his thoughts at the apparent emphasis on the word wielded. "I met someone long ago that demonstrated a similar ability… I wonder if perhaps you're related? Quirks mutate as they pass through the generations after all. Ah, but you asked who I was… I am All For One."

"Sensei!" Tomura cried out in distress, Scath definitely allowing his face and body to reveal his feelings about this revelation.

"All For One? The rumoured villain overlord from when Quirks were first appearing?" the brown-haired youth asked, the incredulous dread seeping into his voice, glancing over towards Tomura. That was decades ago, at least over a century from what he researched about this worlds history.

It shouldn't be possible for him to still be alive, assuming this was indeed All For One and not someone just bluffing… but given his own experience with living far beyond what time allowed it would stand to reason that a similar ability could exist here in this superpowered world. "And he's your protégé…" he said, gleaning that from the whole sensei outcry from the hand wearing man. "So this League Of Villains is some sort of learn-as-you-act type of schooling, whilst at the same time trying to become a genuine organization to topple the current society…"

"And quick to analyse and grasp the situation!" the voice from the television chuckled in delight. "That broker underestimated your talents my boy… So what do you say? Do you think you can help my Tomura with his lessons Mister Darkgnaw?" asked quite arguably the most powerful villain in all of this worlds history. Hell, the most powerful Quirk user ever… and quite possibly the one that Xehanort made contact with in this world and spread the knowledge of the Keyblade.

The room was silent for a while. Scath looked at the screen for a moment longer, then to Tomura, then to the misty bartender Kurogiri. "I don't suppose you can make a decent gin?" he asked the portal Quirk wielder. "I think I'm going to need a few lined up if I'm going to be teaching this kid anything." He said with a smirk.

"You don't have anything to teach me you lop-sided armour wearing-" Tomura began before finding Scath's armoured hand wrapped around his throat, dark energy coruscating around its surface. Kurogiri and Tomura both blinked, trying to figure out how he'd moved so fast without being spotted by either of them. If he could move like that, why didn't he earlier when Tomura had tried to attack him? Tomura tried to bring his hands up to defend himself, to trigger his Decay Quirk, but found his hands pinned to his side by chains of darkness that had wrapped themselves around his body! When did he do that?! How was he doing this?!

"You think this is an RPG? A tank, healer and some DPS right? First lesson. What you want to do, toppling a society, that's not a dungeon run or a raid encounter. This is an RTS. This is war." snarled the brown-haired youth, his grip tightening around the protégé's throat. The darkness became even more pronounced. "And before you ask, I've fought in a war. I ended the lives of those I once called friends for the sake of the one I called Master. I died and was cast into hell itself. So you ask yourself this boy, what are you willing to do to achieve your masters goal?" he growled, the darkness surrounding his body in a malevolent aura.

There was no sound save for the eddies of dark energy emanating from Scath's form, a twisted parody of waves on a beach was brought to mind. He released his grip on Tomura's throat as he made his way for the bar door, his question to the young villain going unanswered. "Giran, call me when you've got more soldiers to add to the League's ranks. If I'm going to teach this kid how to win a war, I'm going to need to know what pieces are on the chessboard." The wielder of Darkness half-ordered, half-requested of the broker who simply shrugged and smiled in return as he took his leave.

"As for you Tomura… think on what today's lesson has been. I'll be back for your next one when the board is set." The brown-haired youth stated as he left the protégé of All For One to stew in impotent rage. Once he was further down the street he ducked into a nearby alleyway and braced himself against the wall, running a hand through his hair and taking deep panting breaths. He looked around, making sure that nobody had tailed him before he spoke. "All For bloody One… Ienzo has got to pull her out. Now."


	5. Chapter 5: Reaping What Is Sown

Authors Notes:

* * *

 **CHAPTER FIVE**

 **Reaping What Is Sown**

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"I'm sorry but the answer is no." the silver-haired scientist said, not even bothering to look up from his work at the computer as he answered. "Hikari's about to take part in her final exams for the semester, and if we pulled her out now it would only raise more questions than we can comfortably answer."

"I don't care if she's having a tea party with the Prime Minister of Japan himself!" Scath snarled as he stormed towards Ienzo, shooting a glare at Leon who stepped between the two of them. The Keyblade wielder and the Gunblade user stared each other down before Scath folded his arms and sighed. The Keyblade wielder took a breath and started counting backwards from ten, getting a better grip over his rising temper. Once he felt he had a reign on it, he continued.

"All For One is Xehanort levels of bad from what I understood you guys telling me about _that_ deranged psycho, and he's the most likely place to find these Xehanort Reports you all want so badly. You _seriously_ expect me to believe that Hikari won't try to go after him the second she finds out he's involved?" he asked the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee who had all gathered there. "I will _not_ allow a child to get herself killed just because you all want some scraps of paper."

Ienzo sighed and looked up from the terminal towards the brown-haired youth. "That's assuming that this man claiming to be All For One _is_ who he says he is." He pointed out. "For all we know, he could be someone impersonating him in order to build up a following. Besides, no human can live for that long-" he began to say before blinking and realising who he was talking to.

"You were saying?" the survivor of the first Keyblade War asked the scientist, eyebrow raised as if daring him to finish his statement. Ienzo had at least the good grace to blush a little from embarrassment, turning his focus back to the keyboard and its adjacent screen. Leon shook his head with a hand on his forehead whilst the ninja girl Yuffie snickered a little.

"Whilst what Ienzo said is possible about him being a fake," the brown haired girl named Aerith said, "we should at least consider the possibility that this villain really is who he says he is. Maybe we _should_ pull Hikari from the City Of Heroes? At least for the duration of the summer vacation that's coming up?" the flower girl offered, earning a nod of approval from Scath.

"What if this Aizawa wants to take the class to some kind of hero summer camp thing?" asked Yuffie as she leaned against the wall. The group all sighed and nodded. That did sound like something that UA and its teachers would do, judging from the school work that they'd seen the kids going through when Ienzo and Aerith were there last time. "Gonna be kinda hard to pull her out from that without some kind of good reason that can survive scrutiny." the ninja girl pointed out.

The Keyblade wielder slammed his fist into a nearby wall, denting the metal by an inch. "Are you kidding me?!" asked Scath of the Committee, glaring at each and every one of them. "Have you seen the Hosu Incident reports? It took Hikari calling out the Keyblade just to deal with one of those things when they attacked at USJ. _One._ " he said, holding up a single finger for visual emphasis. "And this guy can call up more of them. _And_ they're recruiting more villains into their ranks on top of those things!"

"Then you need to keep an even closer eye on things than normal." said Leon. "You reported that you've made yourself a presence in the League Of Villains, so use that influence."

Scath ran a hand through his hair as he growlingly sighed. "I was already planning on trying to keep them as far from her as possible, but with this development..."

The Gunblade-wielder went over and rested a hand on the Keyblade-wielders shoulder. "Just do the best you can on your end without raising suspicion. That's all we're asking." Leon asked of him, the rest of the Committee nodding in agreement with their "leaders" miniature speech.

"Got it, I'll try to keep your "daughter" as clear of the villains as I can." Scath answered with a smirk, Leon sighing whilst the ninja in the background cackled like a hyena.

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He walked down the streets of the city, taking in the sights and smells of it all. Hikari was safe with her internship with the Number 3 Hero, the League was being quiet with no plans for an attack in the near future, at least according to Kurogiri, and so Scath found himself with some free time on his hands. Time for some sight-seeing. He was a foreigner to this place, in more ways than one, so time to play the role. This City Of Heroes city… It was nothing like the world that he'd come from. At least that was the sense he got from it, what with his memories of the world before being shrouded in darkness.

From what he had seen of Radiant Garden, it was very different from there as well. It had more in line with this San Fransokyo world that he'd heard about from Riku. Towering skyscrapers that pierced the clouds, all whilst managing to not feel like an oppressive cage… Whoever designed this city definitely knew how to balance space with needs. He smiled softly as he considered the multitude of lives that just this one city held, and how people like Hikari were working to keep it this peaceful.

Well, relatively peaceful as he swerved to the side to dodge a gang of skateboarding children. "Sorry mister!" one of them called back as they sped away. Scath shook his head, chuckling as he waved them off.

"Good balance. Most people would get knocked over from a near-miss like that." Came a voice from his side. Scath turned his focus and raised an eyebrow at the apparently armour wearing Hero that was standing there with a hot-dog in their hand. It took the Keyblade wielder a moment to place the mans identity.

"Never thought I'd get such praise from the Turbo Hero himself." He said as he made his way over to the vendor's stall. Giving the menu a quick look over, he ordered himself the same as whatever Ingenium was having.

"I call it like I see it. You new to town? Can't say I've seen a hero like you before around." The speedster asked him, nodding at the armour on Scath's left arm. Scath looked at the armour as well, closed his eyes and gave a shake of his head with a sigh.

 _Maybe once upon a time that would have been the case._ Scath thought to himself. "I'm no hero. This is more of an… heirloom I suppose you could call it." He said, nodding as the vendor gave him the hotdog, paying for it with the card that Ienzo had managed to set up for him.

"Ah, I see. My apologies." Ingenium said as he bowed his head towards the brown-haired man. "But you've gotta admit, it does kind of suit the image. What brings you to my city then?"

"College gap year… with a side order of extra credit research thrown in for good measure." Scath answered, recalling the non-villain cover that he'd used before when he first got to this world. "The Historical Patterns In The Rise And Fall Of Villains And Heroes, to give the research project it's full name." he said, smirking at the wince that the speedster gave him. "Keeps the professors back home happy."

"I'll bet, with a mouthful like that." Ingenium chuckled. "Sounds like an interesting topic though. Hope we're not due for a rise in villains any time soon." The speedster remarked with a smirk.

"Wish it were that interesting." The Keyblade wielder said good humouredly. "It's mostly splitting fact from fiction, which means hours and hours and hours of looking through old documents and seeing where each one corroborates, and where each differs." He said, taking a bite out of the hotdog. "Heroes are the easy side of it. Documentation on their licences and such." Scath partially explained.

Ingenium nodded. "But the villains are where the headaches start ain't it? All the rumours and such." He said, Scath sighing and nodding in response. "I feel for you. It's a shame that the villains don't have their own registry. Would make things so much easier, for both of us."

"Ha, I wish." The Keyblade wielder chuckled. "Sadly its like chasing down ghost stories for the most part, especially the further back you look."

"Did someone say ghost stories?" asked a voice behind Scath, causing him to jump a little and clutch a hand to his chest from the fright. Ingenium just rolled his eyes as a hero with large spiky blonde hair and a large speaker set in front of his neck snickered. "Sorry kid, couldn't help myself. Lemme make it up to ya eh?"

"You going to pay for his heart replacement surgery Mic?" the Turbo Hero asked with a slight smirk, Scath briefly tensing up at the words before forcing himself to relax. Heart replacement probably meant something very different here in this world.

"Nah, I ain't that generous." The blonde said before, very loudly, cackling. "But I do know a good ghost story that our overseas student here might like~"

"Alright, I'm game. But only if you turn down the cackling. Think I might need new ears as well as a heart after that." Said Scath as he rubbed a finger in the offended orifice.

"Yeah yeah, fair enough kiddo." Mic said with an apologetic wink. "Well, old rumour has it that an island off the coast is home to these dark and terrible ghosts. The ghosts of shadows who seek out the hearts of humans who still have them."

Scath tensed even as Ingenium scoffed. "Really? That old story? I'm sure he found that one in the libraries archives on the first day he got here. It's just an urban myth. Yellow eyes and bodies of black… honestly, it's ridiculous."

Both of the pro-heroes blinked though when the "overseas student" grabbed hold of the vocalist hero and stared hard at Mic. "What's the name of this island, and which coast is it off from?"

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For the next forty-eight hours Scath did nothing except spend his time poring every single document he could find on Gunkanjima. He even got in contact with Giran and Kurogiri in order to check if there was a villain presence there, or if there had ever been one, on the pretense of a secondary headquarters location should the current League's base become compromised.

The idea that there were Heartless here in this world… It seems that none of them had done as thorough a reconnaissance as he had first thought if this information had slipped them by. All the information he could gather though from both the legal and illegal sides of the fence available to him though didn't suggest anything further than this one ghost story. There was nothing active there, although there was some rumours of a minor drugs operation on the island.

Nothing Scath couldn't handle if the dealers tried to pull something on him. With that settled he raised his hand and opened a portal to the island, deciding that he'd better investigate this himself. If this was just a ghost story, it was a very damned specific one…

As he stepped out the other side of the portal, the sound of gunfire drew his attention. _Someone trying to fight the possible Heartless, or just the local dealer riff-raff?_ The brown-haired man thought to himself as he made his way in that direction. He soon found himself looking at a group of people facing down a trio of armed thugs some distance away. He crouched down and kept low to the ground in order to lower his chances of being spotted.

"Close. The name's Viper. That guy over there is Rhino and Rat." The one in the middle introduced themselves to the larger group.

 _Not exactly the most imaginative of names given their physical Quirks…_ Scath thought to himself with a shake of his head. The one with the wings though he recognised… The Number 3 Hero… Wait… The Number Three Hero was here?! He ignored the rest of the conversation going on between the two groups as he scanned the larger collection, grimacing as he spotted a young brown-haired girl amongst them.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me…" he grumbled, covering his face with his armoured hand. He let out a slow breath. "Relax… they outnumber the dumbasses, she'll be fi-" he began to say before the situation became much worse.

From the ground around them, ant-like creatures with black skin started to appear… all around them, surrounding them.

Shadows.

Heartless.

"Did you know, this island was used as a research facility for those creatures? It was a parting gift from a generous man." The snake-like villain in the distance explained loudly and proudly, Scath scowling as his suspicions were confirmed. Xehanort didn't come to this world just to look around and leave his Reports in. He had been actively seeking out the Darkness here… or at the very least trying to spread it here for some purpose.

The battle soon started, and the idiot of a girl was flashing her Keyblade around in front of all the heroes and the police! "Tch, stupid kid… What part of secret doesn't she get?" he growled before glancing to the side as an Earth Core came barrelling towards him. "Graviga." Scath snarled as he stretched out his hand towards the Heartless, the creature soon becoming as flat as a pancake and disappearing in a puff of smoke.

There was something though that that Viper had said… this place had been a research facility on the Heartless, set up by Xehanort. And if this was a research facility, then that meant there had to be a computer network. And if there was a computer network… It may have data on where Xehanort hid his reports, or even better have the reports on them itself! He looked back to where Hikari was fighting before he started to properly look at the terrain around them.

"No overhanging cables, which means whatever power there is must be underground based…" he mused, still looking around. He couldn't see any sign of electrical lights or any other illuminations that would indicate where these villains had found the Heartless, but he did notice the Heartless changing their trajectory.

Towards the one named Rhino.

Scath frowned as he peered at the man in the distance, some sort of device laying nearby with shattered glass. "He injected himself with something… and now the Heartless are- Crap." He hissed as the end result was a massive rhino-like Heartless that was now staring Hikari down like a target.

His own Keyblade appeared in his hand, a dark mist obscuring its form from view as he debated what to do. This was a boss level Heartless definitely, one formed by a Quirk wielding human of this world. Alone, Hikari and her Spirits may be able to take it on… but she wasn't alone, and neither was it. The Heroes would get in the way for certain in a naive attempt to protect a girl they thought couldn't handle this kind of foe, as would the police, and the remaining Heartless would definitely not be sitting idly by…

His orders were to keep Hikari out of as much danger as he could from the villains, whilst hunting for Xehanort's Reports amongst the villains. There had to be a way to achieve both goals here… Scath looked at the Darkgnaw in his hand before closing his eyes and sighing. He took in a deep breath, releasing it as he opened his eyes, nodding to himself. "Let's do this then." He muttered before he let the Darkness flow from him, as he ran from the scene of the heroes battle.

He glanced around him as he ran, partially to continue looking for the laboratory, but also to see if his plan was working… and it seemed to be doing the trick. The various Pureblood strains of Heartless that weren't currently occupied by the heroes were all converging on the darkness coming from himself. "Like moths to the flame." Scath mused, narrowly dodging a Flame Core that burst from the side of an abandoned wall. He swung his Keyblade, destroying the creature even as small motes of shadow were absorbed into the bracelet on his right wrist.

He continued running and fighting with the Heartless chasing him, until he came to a halt in front of a large set of old iron doors. "Ding ding ding, we have a winner." Said Scath, taking a step forward before leaping back as a sudden group of Shadows all converged together to form a tornado version of themselves. One which was blocking his way to the open doors. "A Devil's Tower… just bloody perfect." The Keyblade-Wielder growled, bracing himself for the battle and hoping he could take this thing down quickly enough, and that more of these weren't forming nearby to Hikari and the Heroes… More than one of these would definitely be a problem.

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	6. Chapter 6: Dance With The Devil

Authors Notes: N/A

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 **CHAPTER SIX**

 **DANCE WITH THE DEVIL**

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Devil's Towers... nasty pieces of work. Conglomerations of hundreds of Shadows, fused together into a singular whirling tornado of darkness and claws. A tornado that can dive into the surface of any object and become immune to being harmed even by Gravity magic until it resurfaces.

Absolute monsters in the Realm Of Darkness, where even the weakest of Shadows strike with considerable power compared to when in the Realm Of Light.

As the Tower barreled into him, his Keyblade acting as a shield against the brunt of the damage, Scath snarled as he crashed through a nearby wall of one of the abandoned buildings. "Definitely weaker than I remember... but not by much." the ancient Keyblade Wielder noted as he got to his feet, firing a triple burst of Firaga spells towards the Tower.

The fire spells connected, peeling off some of the Shadows that formed the construct. But it wasn't enough... not nearly enough. The Tower's multitude of eyes flashed red before it charged forward once more, the wall around the hole Scath had made shattering into dust in the wake of the Towers attack. The brunette growled as he fired a blizzard spell to the side, using the ice path it formed in its trail to narrowly evade the Heartless' attack.

He pointed his Keyblade at the creature from his new position on its flank, concentrated his energy towards the blade's tip and then unleashed a high volume of energy blasts towards the Devil's Tower. Each blast that connected at first appeared to do minimal damage before they exploded. The Tower seemed to shriek in pain as it bucked and flailed from the numerous detonations. "Good to know I can still pull that trick off in this Realm without the card..." Scath mused before he made a break for the lab entrance once more.

As he did so, the Tower gave off a roar following in pursuit of the Keyblade Wielder. "Figures. Damned things a bloody guard dog..." he cursed, frowning as something crossed his mind. "Then how did those idiot drug dealers get past it and into the research facility?"

As he cast a blizzard spell forming a wall between himself and the Heartless, in order to put some more distance between himself and the Devil's Tower, he went over the differences. He had a Keyblade, they did not. They weren't in control of their darkness, whilst he was... There had to be some variable he was missing, because the list so far would put him in favour of getting past whilst they should have been consumed already. Was it jut because he wasn't from this world, whilst they were?

The ice breaking behind him ended the train of thought before it could get any further. "Right solve the mystery later. Beat the Heartless now." he grumbled, practically hearing a certain long gone, high pitched cat-like Spirits voice echoing his words inside his head. He looked at the Devil's Tower coming through the ice and let out a slow breath. No better time to test that move that Terra taught him after he'd awoken and they'd worked on helping him control his Darkness better… "Dark Impulse." he invoked, a torrent of darkness erupting around him and encasing Scath in its power.

The mass of Heartless paused for a moment, as if confused by this sudden explosion of darkness that was corruscating around the Keyblade Wielder. That moment was all Scath needed. He took his Keyblade and unleashed a massive arc of dark energy towards the Heartless, cleaving it in twain. He followed it up by thrusting out with his free hand, a construct of energy surging forth from it in an oversized likeness of his limb, grabbed hold of the "head" of the tower before summarily crushing it. He stood there watching as the entity dispersed in thick wisps of black and purple smoke until naught remained. Scath turned and made his way inside the research facility.

"So," he mused aloud as he walked down the corridors, his every step disturbing the dusts of time, "those idiots hadn't come inside. The Heartless had come out…" This revelation did little to set Scath's mind at ease. It meant that either something triggered the Heartless or someone else had released them, albeit remotely. All For One maybe?

With the League aware-ish of Hikari being a Wielder it was plausible… Which meant this entire mission she'd come on here could have been a setup. A test to gauge her abilities. That, or he was being completely paranoid. The knowledge that this worlds equivalent of Xehanort was behind the League was like a double-edged sword.

Scath caught a glimpse of himself in a shattered piece of glass from a large tube of sorts and snorted. "Speaking of double-edged swords." the ancient Keyblade Wielder mused as he looked at the amber eyes staring back at him, a sheen of silver across his hair. He closed his eyes and released the Darkness he had built up around him as a slow breath. If there were any more Heartless here, they'd be drawn to him by proximity now rather than his darkness. When he looked at his reflection once more he was back to normal, although there was a hint of amber ringing his eyes.

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders as he ventured deeper into the complex, his eyes casting around to find any sort of cabling that could lead him to the facilities hub. Eventually he located a door in a style that was almost… familiar to him. It was rectangular save for a tapered triangle towards the upper half, and the designs on it were quite ornate. A large keyhole in the middle of the door held it fast.

Scath nodded to himself as he summoned his Keyblade, and levelled it towards the door. A thin beam of light emerged from its tip, connecting with the keyhole and unlocking the barrier. The doors swung open on their own power, and Scath dismissed his weapon once he was certain there was no immediate threat.

As he entered the room, age old motors began to thrum into life and devices covered in dust slowly lit up and activated. "Right, so these are the research computers no doubt… Now how do I access them?" the brown haired youth mused aloud as he approached the largest screen. A brief Aero spell cleared away the majority of the dust and cobwebs from the computer screen and keyboard, allowing him to properly see what he was trying to work with.

"A password…" Scath grumbled as he looked at the blinking screen awaiting his input. "...Well if it worked for Sora…" he mused before he began to input the names of the original Seven Princesses Of Heart. He gave off an amused snort as the password was accepted and he now had access to the machines mainframe.

As he looked it over though he could tell that there was no way he'd be able to make heads or tails of any of the information… not in any kind of timeframe that would allow him to evade the heroes notice. By his estimate Hikari and the others should be just about wrapping up their own fight right now, which meant he didn't have a lot of time before the idea of poking around the rest of the island occurred to them.

Scath felt around in his coat pockets before finding what he was looking for. A device that looked similar to a Gummiphone, albeit skinnier and smaller. "Let's see now… how did Ienzo say this Memory Drive worked again?" he asked himself with a sigh as he rested it against the computer.

Scath blinked as the smaller device bleeped and blooped, before watching as everything on the large screen in front of him started to whiz away and started to appear on the smaller devices screen as a bar filling up. "Oh, right… just hold it against the thing… Now I remember." he half-chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. He tapped his foot as he waited for the device to finish grabbing all of the larger computers data, looking over his shoulder every so often to make sure that nothing or nobody else was there.

Last thing he needed was some hero or a Heartless to interrupt him. The former cus he really did not want to have to act on his whole Villain cover just yet, especially not with Hikari on the island. He'd had enough of Keyblade wielders clashing to last him a lifetime… The latter however could lead to accidentally damaging these old computers before he could gather all the information from them.

After a few nervous minutes the small device gave what could only be described as a very satisfied bleeping noise… and a bloop that Scath thought sounded almost like a burp. Could machines burp? That was probably a question best saved for that… Torn? Toon? Whatever, the thing that lives inside Ienzo's computer would be able to answer that question, if he remembered or bothered to ask it when he got back.

For now though, the brown haired youth collected the filled Memory Drive from the computer and called out his Keyblade. Scath smirked as he proceeded to smash his weapon into the various consoles and screens in the room. Once he was certain he'd wrecked everything that could be wrecked in the room, Scath began to make his way out of the facility leaving a trail of Thunder and Fire spells in his wake to ensure that there was no evidence of his being there, and to ensure that nothing remained to be used by anyone again.

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"Not something that I enjoy reading first thing in the morning. Could you please stop giving me heart attacks so early in the day?" Ienzo sighed as he rubbed his temples, referring to the news he'd seen this morning regarding the events on the island with the Heartless.

 _"Sorry, sorry. FYI, you're the one who asked."_ was Hikari's somewhat sheepish reply from the other end of the Gummiphone.

"Yes, but after reading the news, how could I not worry? There's Heartless - not to mention the Hero Killer is after you..."

 _"We finished every single Heartless - I made sure of it."_ said the brunette on her end of the call, Scath snorting in amusement from his end of the lab just out of vocal range. No need to let the girl know that there had been more than she'd faced on the island. " _Besides, Stain can't do anything anymore. He's in jail."_

"I don't think this is something we should take lightly. We have to tell-"

 _"Don't tell Sora and the others."_

The silence was palpable. Even Scath was a bit bemused by the sharp response Hikari gave to the idea of telling the others about the Heartless in the Hero world.

"Why?" asked the silver-haired scientist, breaking the faux tension that had built up in the room.

 _"I don't want any of them dealing with anything related to Xehanort ever again."_

Scath closed his eyes and sighed as the two discussed the situation, shaking his head as he understood exactly what she was trying to do. It was a noble gesture trying to allow the others to keep themselves in blissful ignorance... But that kind of peace is short-lived. And when it finally breaks, it usually makes quite the large mess. And this girl was supposedly a Keyblade Master? The requirements for that title must have dropped a bit since the Age Of Fairy Tales then…

Then again was he any better for keeping his suspicions about that islands mission being a setup orchestrated by All For One a secret from the group? The comparison caused Scath to snort in amusement. Kettles and tea pots.

Ienzo sighed as Hikari ended the call between them, looking to the ancient Keyblade wielder leaning against the wall. "So... you going to say it then Scath? The whole "I told you so" speech?"

The brown haired youth snorted in semi-amusement, shaking his head. "No, I'm not that cruel. Besides," he said as pulled out the Memory Drive from his jacket pocket, tossing it over to the scientist, "I come bearing gifts." said Scath, Ienzo looking the device over before plugging it into the main computer. "Cleaned out the computers in the facility and then scrubbed them to make sure the Heroes didn't get anything they shouldn't. Or any other Villains." he said, leaning on the chair as Ienzo scanned through the data that he'd recovered. "So... are you going to tell them? Before it gets out of hand?"

"And risk Hikari finding out? No thank you, I like being human." the silver-haired scientist half-joked, Scath rolling his eyes a little before nodding. "There's a lot of data here that I recognise from when Xehanort was Ansem The Wise's apprentice... but it appears to be an early draft. Nowhere near as detailed as his research during that time."

"Wait. Early draft?" asked Scath with a raised eyebrow, and a note of dread entering his voice as his suspicions were aroused. "Do you mean that Xehanort was already conducting experiments with hearts and darkness, long before he took Terra's body and became Ansem's apprentice?"

"It does appear to look that way so far..." Ienzo confirmed, not looking away from the data scrolling across the screens. "That would explain why both yourself and Hikari only reported seeing Pureblood strains of Heartless, and not the Emblem variety that..." he paused and sighed. "That we wound up helping to create. Besides that poor Rhino fellow..."

Scath looked at Ienzo for a moment before swiftly and resoundingly smacking the scientist across the back of his head with his hand.

"Ow! What the-" the silver-haired scientist cried, spinning in his chair to admonish the Keyblade wielder, pausing as he was interrupted.

"You want to talk blame? Idiot, you were even younger than Hikari when you, under Xehanort's influence, created the Emblem Heartless. If either of us here in this room were to hold any blame for this situation, mine would be the greater weight." said Scath, a different Keyblade appearing in his hand from his usual Darkgnaw, one that looked to be entwined with roses before it disappeared in a flash of light. "Me and mine created this mess with the Keyblade War... allowing Darkness to enter all the new worlds that were born from the shattered remnants of ours… A world that should never have been broken to begin with..."

"Come now. I did not think we would be holding a pity party this early in the day. I would have brought more ice-cream if that were the case." came an older voice from the labs doorframe, both scientist and wielder looking at the newcomer. An older man with graying yellow hair stood there, his amber eyes twinkling with pitying amusement.

"Master Ansem! Forgive me I-" Ienzo began, quickly finding an ice-cream filling his mouth and silencing him. Scath wisely collected his from the ruler of Radiant Garden without a word of protest. It was one of the strangest things about this time but it was one of the more pleasant ones, this whole fascination with sea-salt ice-cream. Especially since he much preferred the strawberry ripple flavour. Far less salty. But he wasn't going to say no to a free ice-cream.

"This business with Xehanort and this world of heroes has all of us who are aware of it on edge." the old ruler of Radiant Garden remarked, a bitter undercurrent to his words. "But, we cannot allow it to drag us into the murky depths of "what if's" and "but I's", now can we? There has been enough of that these past few years to fulfill a lifetime of regret." he inquired of the two of them, Scath merely shrugging whilst Ienzo gave an amused snort.

"Master, I think you've perhaps been studying Sora and his heart for so long that it's infected you." the silver-haired scientist remarked, causing the older man to chuckle.

"Perhaps. He does have a habit of doing that to those whom he encounters after all." Ansem The Wise mused. He turned his attention towards the Keyblade Wielder. "Now young man," he said without a hint of irony, "I believe you said gifts as in plural. The data young Ienzo is going through is but one... what is the other?"

"Right... figured the lord of the castle would have his ears everywhere." Scath said as he fished out an apparently empty syringe from his pocket and passed it into the waiting hand of the old man. "I managed to get a hold of this when the Heroes were otherwise occupied with their recon after the battle. Normally, according to that worlds records, the Trigger drug is meant to act as a superpower steroid booster of sorts." he explained to Ansem as he inspected the syringe, noting the very faint remnants of a liquid residue in the device.

"But when the villains there used it on themselves, it made them far more susceptible to the Darkness, drawing the Heartless towards them and ultimately resulting in the one called Rhino to transform into an Emblem Heartless." Ienzo continued, half-looking at the research data on the screen and half at his master.

"I figured this would be more you geniuses area of expertise. If I had any interests in chemicals back in the Age Of Fairy Tales, I don't remember them." Scath explained to the two scientists. "I don't remember seeing anyone during the Keyblade War using anything resembling this sort of device." he said, sighing afterwards and rubbing the back of his head. "But it was a large battlefield so… who knows?"

Ansem The Wise stroked his beard in thought as he examined the substance. "I shall have Even take a closer look at this. The field of biology and physiology was always of great interest to him after all." the old scientist-king remarked, Scath nodding even as he called his Keyblade to hand and opened a portal with it. "Leaving so soon already?"

"Got to keep an eye on the League. This little drug bust might have stirred something loose in their collective memories, and even if the drugs themselves mean nothing…" he trailed off, the unspoken concern hanging in the air between the three of them.

Ienzo looked at the data regarding the experiments that had been performed on the island as Scath left Radiant Garden, the portal closing behind him. "Let us hope that that was the only facility in that world…" he sighed.

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	7. Chapter 7: Complications Of The Past

Authors Notes:

WingBladeWeaver1357: Glad you're enjoying this :D

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 **CHAPTER SEVEN**

 **Complications Of The Past**

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There was a sigh of relief from the well-dressed shadowy being behind the bar as Scath entered the League's hideout during the early hours of the following day. It was about seven or so in the morning.

"Darkgnaw, it is good to see you didn't get caught up in that mess on Gunkanjima." Kuroguri said, rather honest sounding in his tone. He gestured to the television which was showing the news report regarding the clash on that island. The Number Three Hero Hawks, and his two interns along with other heroes and the police had fought against monsters and a trio of Trigger peddling thugs on the island. The fact that the news reports were going into that much detail gave the Keyblade wielder a note of concern but for now he had to play his role.

"I almost did." Scath said with a sigh as he took a seat at the bar. Kuroguri slid him a glass and began to pour him a drink. He nodded and took a mouthful. He coughed a little as the rough liquid rolled down his throat "First of all, whiskey? At this time in the morning?" Scath asked, the shadowy figure merely shrugging, although the Keyblade wielder could swear Kuroguri was smirking even though he didn't have a mouth. "Second and more importantly, they weren't connected to us were they?"

"Thankfully not." the villainous bartender replied. "For the time being we remain secure and uncompromised. Although…" Kuroguri trailed off, looking over at a hole in the wall that hadn't been there when Scath was last there. The brown haired youth snorted in semi-amusement and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, kind of figured the kid wouldn't be too happy about someone else taking the media spotlight. Again." Scath stated, taking a sip of his drink. He then sighs. "Well that's a disappointing relief." he mused whilst twisting his wrist, watching the liquid swirling in his glass. Scath caught Kurogiri's curious look and smirked. "A relief that they aren't connected to us, and therefore can't reveal any of our plans. Disappointing however since we cannot in turn discover where they got those creatures from." the brown haired youth explained to his counterpart in the League.

"And why would we need such fodder hmm?" a voice from the far door asked, quite bitter in its tone and yet at the same time apathetic. Scath didn't even need to look in the voices direction to know who it belonged to.

"Because that "fodder" as you call them, managed to distract and hold off the Number Three hero, the former sidekick of the Number One Hero, three UA interns, and about a half dozen police officers." Scath pointed out to Shigaraki, ignoring the kids incessant scratching even as he stepped towards the Keyblade Wielder. He took another drink of the whiskey Kurogiri had poured out for him, letting the rough liquid warm his throat. "For not an inconsiderable amount of time I might add." he said, resting the empty glass down on the bars coaster gently.

Shigaraki slammed his hand into the table, except for his thumb which hung over the edge of the wooden edifice. "I don't care about what they managed to do-." he began to rant before Scath decided to interrupt him.

"That hole in the wall says otherwise." the brown haired youth said, tilting his head in the direction of the property damage in question. A piece of the wall around it crumbled off and fell to the floor. "That is today's new lesson my student. Learning to control your temper and frustrations. Besides the usual attempt at drilling strategy into that thick skull of yours."

"You foreign bastar-" Tomura began to say, already reaching out for Scath, even as he himself prepared to use Dark Firaga on him in return when a cough came from the doorway and interrupted the situation. Both of them looked and saw Giran standing there, a slimy smirk spread across his face.

"Glad to see you're getting along so well with each other." He said, taking a drag from the cigarette between his teeth. "I've brought you some fresh meat to look over." The broker said as he stepped aside for the person following him to come inside. They were certainly an... interesting looking individual, and that was something given this world's Quirk-y nature combined with the other worlds inhabitants.

"A Stain cosplaying lizard with a… sword," said Scath as he gestured to the vast collection of various blades strapped together rather haphazardly, "that would make an anime proud." He said with a sigh and a shake of his head. "No offense Giran but are you sure about this pick?"

"For once, I agree." Tomura grumbled, heading towards the back room with a dismissive wave. "Get rid of them."

Scath sighed again, shaking his head. "Doubt we have the same reasons for concern…" he muttered to himself, looking back at the new recruit who looked about ready to throw a fit. "You sure you even know how to use that thing, let alone wanting to run with the League kid?"

"The name's Spinner. And you don't look much older than me, not by a long shot so quit it with the kid talk." The reptilian humanoid declared, one hand taking hold of his "sword" as he spoke. Scath couldn't help himself but to chuckle. "What's so funny eh?! You don't think I can uphold Stain's legacy with you?" Spinner snarled.

"Maybe it's better I show rather than tell." The brown haired youth mused. He looked at Kurogiri. "Kurogiri, do you think you can warp us somewhere… quiet?" asked Scath, the shadowy individual tilting his head in thought before nodding.

"I think I know just the place to suit your needs Darkgnaw." Kurogiri replied before making a gate with his body. Scath gestured towards Spinner to follow him.

"Before you make some stupid remark about offing you, if I wanted to do that you'd be dead already." Scath said as he saw Spinner was about to say something. He turned his attention back to Kurogiri. "One hour." He said before stepping through.

The sensation of using these quirk based teleports still felt off to the ancient Keyblade Wielder, like he was walking through thick mud and slush compared to his Keyblades gates which were like a field of grass by comparison. But for the time being it would have to do. As he stepped through, he had to take a moment to himself, looking out across a vast empty desert. One that looked vaguely familiar to Scath. He gave a long sullen sigh, shaking his head. "Will I always think of that when I see this vista in another world?" He mused, walking further ahead even as Spinner came through, the gate closing behind him.

"So, what is this then? Some kind of League test?" the reptilian asked, nervously looking about at the empty desert around them. Nothing else moved or even appeared to live here as far as the eye could see.

"More like… a job interview slash lesson combo." said Scath, his right hand extended forward as a dark cloud of smoke enveloped it. He called out his Keyblade Darkgnaw, but kept it covered as it emerged in darkness so that it appeared to just be a blade like shape in his hand. It took more mana to do it like this, but he wasn't going to go revealing himself like Hikari had. Not yet. "I want you to come at me with that thing of yours as if you intend to kill me. Now!" he ordered, charging towards the reptilian wannabe villain.

Spinner fumbled a little before he brought his oversized weapon in front of himself, barely in time to block Scath's strike. There was a shockwave of air as their weapons clashed, sending a pulse of sand flying out around them. The impact pushed the reptilian back five feet and almost made him lose his grip on his sword. "What the-" was all Spinner got out before he lost sight of Scath.

"Not fast enough." Came a whisper next to Spinners ear, the reptilian Stain cosplayer spinning around in panic even as he found himself being slammed into the ground by Scath's sneak attack to his side, a small crater forming around him from the impact. The large weapon flew from his hand and pierced the earth a few feet away. "What do you hope to achieve?" asked Scath as he watched Spinner slowly push himself out of the crater.

"I want to change this society we live in, and Stain's way is the only way to do so that actually works!" the reptilian snarled through his teeth as he forced himself to his feet. He was shaking, forcing himself to stay on his feet. It felt like whatever Scath had done to him had broken a rib or two.

Scath looked at him for a moment, dismissing his shadowed Keyblade as he walked over towards Spinners embedded weapon. Spinner watched him, confused at first before he scrambled over when he saw the brown haired youth begin to pull the blade free from the earth.

"Careful with that! It's heavier than it looks…" Spinner trailed off, watching Scath give the multi-bladed sword a few test swings with just one hand. He wiggled it a few times, shaking it like a maraca as his eyes analysed the makeshift weapon in closer detail before plunging it back into the ground. "Who are you?"

Scath looked at the buried blade in the desert, his free hand rubbing his armoured one. The silence passed between the two of them for a minute before he answered. "A soldier from a war best left forgotten." He closed his eyes for a moment before spinning on the spot and firing a dark ball of purplish black fire towards Spinner.

Spinner sidestepped the attack, but felt his scales being singed from the proximity of the flames as well as some smoldering on his jacket. "H-Hey!" He called out before having to dodge another ball of the dark fire.

"You wish to change society." Scath said, repeating Spinners words to him. "You wish to carry on Stain's legacy. Can you only do that by merely copying him?" he asked, keeping himself between the multi-bladed sword and Spinner, firing ball after ball of dark fire at him. He watched the lizard-man's movements and reactions carefully. He was quick, definitely quicker than a "normal" person would be. No doubt partly due to his Quirk, but there was something else to it. He was used to fighting, or at the very least dodging attacks.

This line of questioning and fighting continued for another half hour, with Scath altering his spell choices through the spectrum of Darkness. At one point he even let Spinner reclaim his oversized "sword" and get some swings in with the thing before breaking his grip of it and swinging at the reptilian with it himself. He could only hope that the kid was paying attention to the way he was using it and wasn't just focusing on dodging his attacks.

Occasionally the Keyblade Wielder did put a pause on their fighting, partially to give himself and Spinner a breather, but also to give them a chance to drink some water, which were in reality Ether's that Scath had brought with him. They were in a desert after all, and this kind of fighting was a touch exhausting. The Ether's technically worked like water, and were the same colour whilst also allowing Scath to recover his mana from all the spells he'd been casting.

He was admittedly curious to see if introducing someone with a Quirk to a magic restoration item would… trigger something in Spinner. But so far it appeared to have no effect other than refreshing him like regular water would.

With fifteen minutes on the clock left before Kurogiri opened the gate back for them, Scath called one last halt to their fighting. "You're not too bad kid. Definitely got some potential in there… Very unrefined but you'll get there." he said as he sat down, looking out across the desert with his mind drifting off to one that plagued his sleep.

"So… was that… all you… wanted to see?" the reptilian panted, his chest heaving from the exertion of the entire bout.

Scath snorted and shrugged. "Partially. I'm just not a fan of sending people to fight in a war that don't know what they're getting in for." he said, his armoured hand tightening into a fist against the rough desert sand. His eyes stared off into the distance, the memory of the Keyblade War playing out in front of him like a faint projection. "How does that phrase go? Been there, done that, got the t-shirt?" he asked Spinner after a moments silence.

"War?" Spinner asked, looking at Scath confused for a moment as he rubbed the back of his head. "Eh… I guess I can see what you mean though. It's not gonna be easy to change this corrupted hero society we've got." the young man mused. He slapped his cheeks and then slammed a fist into a waiting palm. "But with Stain's teachings we'll be sure to carve out a new world. I'm sure of it. It'll guide our way."

Scath looked at Spinner for a while, then turned his gaze out towards the distant sun. He closed his eyes and placed a hand on his chest. "May your heart be your guiding key…" The ancient Keyblade Wielder said softly, a smile tugging at his lips. The two of them sat in silence before the wooshing sound of Kurogiri's gate disturbed it. "Well, best be heading back. I'll have a word with Tomura, but for now Spinner consider yourself one of us." Scath said as he stood to his feet and offered a hand to the lizard-man.

Spinner looked at the extended hand and took it in his own, shaking it quite profusely. "You won't regret this Darkgnaw, I promise." he said before dashing through the gate and back to the city on the other side.

The brown-haired Keyblade Wielder took one last look at the desert around himself. "I hope you're right… I hope you're right." he mused before he followed suit and stepped through the gate. On the other side, he gave a nod of thanks to the well-dressed shadowy bartender. "The kid's good. A little rough around the edges, but with a bit of polish will do fine." he said to him.

"Excellent, and whilst you were away we received information regarding who the island trio were that had those creatures." said Kurogiri with a pleasant tone to his voice. If he had a proper face, Scath would almost assume that the shadowy figure was smiling. "They were ex-Yakuza, specifically of the Motomura Family. Which narrows our field of inquiry quite considerably."

Scath stroked his chin in thought as he tried to recall the information he'd gathered about this world, as well as what he'd learned from reading Hikari's albeit sketchy reports. "Yakuza… They were…" he trailed off and sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Sorry, foreigner brain here. What were the Yakuza again?" he asked, Spinner laughing a bit.

"Heh, guess I get to teach _you_ something then eh?" the lizard-man asked with a smirk. "The Yakuza used to be these big time crime family types. But when Quirks came about they went the way of the stone age. Now they're practically relics and fossils, especially compared to _us_." Spinner explained, Scath nodding slowly as he did so.

"That doesn't explain though how they got a hold of those creatures though." Scath pointed out before a thought crossed his mind, turning his attention to Kurogiri. "Our _supplier_ for the Nomu… could he have had a hand in these things? And then given them to these ex-Yakuza as a test run?" he inquired, keeping the fact that All For One was the real mastermind behind the League a secret still from Spinner. No sense in flooding the kids head in one day.

Kurogiri almost appeared to frown as he considered this. "I'll try to make inquiries, but I do not think so no. They would have told us if that were the case." the shadow-man stated, Scath finding himself having to nod in agreement. It definitely wouldn't make sense for All For One to keep that kind of weapon a secret from the League, especially with the way Tomura acted at the way the news reacted to the creatures. Then again... the Heartless would probably make an easy snack of Tomura's Heart, and if All For One had any information on them from his time with Xehanort he'd probably guess that... This was far too much of a knot to untangle right now.

"Alright… Well, I'm a bit exhausted. Tell Tomura not to dust this one," said the Keyblade Wielder, hiking a thumb towards Spinner, "and if Giran brings any more recruits give me a call. I'm heading back to my place to get some rest, and figure out this whole Yakuza angle. If they're making a move of their own, it may either work in our favour or be a pain in the arse."

Kurogiri nodded in agreement as Scath left the bar and began to make his way through the city, thinking as he walked its streets towards his flat.

These Ex-Yakuza couldn't have come up with the Heartless on their own, and the facility he'd gone into on the island hadn't been disturbed… which meant that there had to have been at least _one_ other such facility in this world somewhere. But if _that_ was the case, why wait till now to use them? Were they simply taking advantage of the chaos of the League's activities? Or…

His mind wandered to Hikari and her discovery amongst the underworld as being a Keyblade Wielder, at least from the League's standpoint… and Stain… And a lot of people had seen Stain's message by now.

Had that message somehow sparked this? Was that what caused these Ex-Yakuza to trigger their Heartless minions into action? In an attempt to draw out Hikari and claim the Keyblade? If that was the case… then this meant that the Gunkanjima incident was indeed a trap. As well as a test… a means to verify the rumours floating around, as well as the legends that Xehanort had spread during his time here...

This mission, this _war_ , just become a whole lot more complicated.

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